Hoisting and conveying apparatus



c. N. WOLD 2,346,956 HOISTING AND CONVEYING APPARAT US 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 5. '1943 April 18, 1944.

April 18, 1944. c. N. WOLD HOISTING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS Filed July5, 1943 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 CZar'ewee A/ wazd By 5mm W a tofneys PatentedApr. 18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOISTING AND CONVEYINGAPPARATUS Clarence N. Wold, Roseau, Minn.

Application July 5, 1943, Serial No. 493,584

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in hoisting and conveying apparatusfor use more particularly, although not necessarily, in barns forloading hay into lofts in the barns.

The primary object of my invention is to provide apparatus for thepurpose above set forth which may be easily and quickly installed in theupper portion of a barn adjacent the roof to hoist hay from the groundor from wagons outside the barn and convey the hay into the barn forplacement as desired, and which economizes in the use of cable andpulleys, involves parts of simple construction, is safe, andcomparatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

Other and subordinate objects are also comprehended by my invention, allof which, together with the precise nature of my improvements will bereadily understood when the succeeding description and claims are readwith reference to th drawings accompanying and forming part of thisspecification.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation illustrating my invention in itspreferred embodiment installed in a barn,

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation of the cable winding reel, thedrive therefor, and the supporting frame for said reel and drive,

Figure 4 is a View in bottom plan of said reel, .drive, and frame, and

Figure 5 is a detailed view in longitudinal section illustrating anoptional use of the invention.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, my improved hoisting andconveying apparatus has been shown therein, by way of exemplificationonly, as installed in a type of barn I provided with a gable-type roof2, lower and upper lofts 3, 4, respectively, an upper, centralhay-loading doorway 5 in the front wall 6 of the barn adapted to beclosed by a door I hinged, as at 8, to open outwardly and downwardly,and a lower entrance doorway 9 adapted to be closed by swinging doorsIII.

A basic element of my improved hoisting and conveying apparatus is arod-like, overhead track II in the upper portion of the barn I, in thepeak of the roof 2, close to said peak and which extends in thelongitudinal center of the barn horizontally from the rear end wall outof the doorway 5 for a suitable distance and terminates outside saiddoorway 5 in an upturned front end loop I3 forming a vertical front-stopIII' for a purpose presently seen, The terminal "of the loop I3 and theother end of the track I I are fixed to the barn structure in anysuitable manner, not shown.

A trolley-type carriage I5 of skeleton form straddles the track I I andis suspended from said track by means of a pair of front and reargrooved wheels I6 running on said track and suitably mounted in thecarriage. The carriage I5 is provided, below the track I I, with a pairof front and rear pulleys I'I, I8, respectively.

In the rear upper portion of the barn I is a cable-winding reel I9horizontally disposed, and a power drive, presently described, for saidreel, both supported by a rectangular frame 20 including upright sidebars 2I and an intermediate upright bar 22, said frame being suitablyfixed to the rear wall I2 of the barn I in elevated position such thatthe reel I9 is supported directly below the track II. p

A hoisting cable 23 is suitably fixed at one end to the reel I9 andextends forwardly over the pulley I8 of the carriage I5 and from saidpulley around the usual sheave 24 of a sheave block 25, said cable beingtrained from the sheave block 25 upwardly and rearwardly over the frontpulley ll of the carriage I5 and having its upper end connected, as at26, to said sheave block in the usual manner. The sheave block 24carries the usual grappling hook 21. An upright safety guide frame I9afor the cable 23 is mounted on one of the side bars 2|, and the bar 22of the frame 20, in front of the reel I9, and by means of brackets I9b,the frame I9a including upright guide rollers I90.

The power drive comprises a motor 28, the armature shaft 29 of which isconnected by a belt and pulley drive 30 to a driven shaft 3| jourfialedin bearings 32 fixed on one side bar 2I of the frame 20 and on theintermediate bar 22 respectively. A clutch gear 33, having a groovedcollar 34, is splined on the driven shaft 3|, as at 35, for shiftinginto and out of mesh with a relatively larger gear 36 fast on oneendtrunnion '39 of the reel I9, said reel having a pair of such endtrunnions by means of which, and bearings 38,

said reel is mounted on one side bar 2I and the intermediate bar 22 ofthe frame 20.

A gear shifting lever 39 provided with a forked .end 40 straddling thegrooved collar 34 ispivoted intermediate its ends, as at 35, on a fixedbar GI of the frame 20 for swinging in one direction to mesh the gear 33with the gear 36. A coil spring 42 suitably connected to the lever 39and to the intermediate bar 22 urges the lever 39 in the other directionwhereby the gear 33 is normally held out of mesh relative to the gear36.

A pull cable 43 is provided for swinging the gear shifting lever 39 inthe proper direction to cause the gear 33 to mesh with the gear 36. Thecable 43 is connected at one end thereof, as at 44, to the lever 39,then trained around a guide pulley 45 on the frame 20, extendedforwardly to the front of the barn l, and then downwardly inside thebarnlaroundaseriesof upper, lower and intermediate pulleys 4'8, "and47a,'wlth its other end connected, as at 48, to an upright cableoperating hand lever 49 arranged at the ground or floor level adjacentto the doorway ID for convenient reach through said doorway. Thecableoperating lever 49 is pivoted, as at 5.0,..for movement into setpositions establishedbythe usual toothed segment 5| and hand grippperated ;detent 52 on said lever. Where the cable 43 runs over thepulley 46, a length of chain 53may-"be interposed in-said cable tobetter resist -wear.

As will be seemthe hand lever 49 and pull cable 43 provide means foroperatively connecting the motor drive to'the reel i9 for winding up thehoisting cable 23, and fordisengaging-said 'drive so that-the reel I!)may idle and unwind said cable v23.

Adjacent the doorway i is a switch box .54 suitably mounted on:the.frontwall Sand which may be of any conventional typefor'plug-inconnection-thereto of power lines, not shown, from a remote source ofelectrical supply, not shown. The switch designated 55 is connected onone side toone side of the motor 28-by-a line 56. The other sideof theswitch "55is connected-by a line 51 to one-sideof a motor cut-out switch58 of the spring loaded plunger -:type and connected on its other sideby a short line 59, to the other side of said motor. The plunger 60 ofthe cut-out switch 58 is arranged in the path of rearward movement ofthe carriage I; and said switch 58 is designed to be set atdifierentlocations along the track ,I I so that said carriage may.disable the motor 28 as it travels rearwardly to different locations inthe barn I, whereby hay, or the like,

suspended from the sheave'block 24 maybeunloaded in thelofts, forinstance, as occasion may require. For setting the motor cut-out switch58 in different locations, a suitable clamp, such as represented at 6|,may be provided on said switch for engagement with thetrack II. Thelever 55a of the switch 55 is connected to the pull cable 43 bya coilspring 55b and to the front wall 5 by another coil spring 550,the-arrangement being. such that under pull on said cable 43 ,tooperatively connect the motor drive to the reel J9, the switch. 55 willbe pulled closed, and when the cable 43 is slackened to, permitthespring 42 and lever .39 .todisengage the clutch gear33, the switch lever55a will bepulled open by ,the spring 550.

As will be seen, the hoistingcable 23 andsheave block 24,- together withthe-carriage l5, constitute ablock and tackle which, when the reel 19 1sdisengaged from the-motor drive, may be pulled out-of the barn I throughthe doorway 5, as by a line, not shown, suitably attached to thecarriage l5, after'whichthe sheave block 24 maybe lowered so thatthe-hook 21 maybe attached, as representedby Idottedlines inFigure 2, to;a bale of hay 62,;or the like. The motor drive may then be connected tothe reel 19 by operation of :the handlever 49, and the=motor energizedsimultaneously,.in the manner described, to causereel 19 to. reel upthe.hoisting cable. 23 and; hoist the load to the carriage IS, the carriagebeing held in the loop l3 by said line during this hoisting operation.As the load is elevated to the carriage l5, said carriage may bereleased, in a manner which will be clear, whereupon the carriage andload will be pulled into the barn through the doorway 5 until thecarriage strikes the plunger 60 and thereby cuts out the motor 28. Themotor drive may then be disconnected, or disabled, to permit the load todescend, under the influence of gravity, for deposit whererequired.

As will also be apparent, the motor 28 may be deenergized by operationof the switch before the carriage I5 engages the plunger of the motorcut-out switch 58 if it is desired to halt saidcarriage before itengages said plunger 60.

To hold the reel stationary when the carriage i5 is thus haltedand alsowhenever desired, a brake mechanism is provided for the reel 19comprising'a'brake drum 63 fast on the gear 36, and a brake band 64having one end fast on a bracket 65 suitably secured tothe ,frame 20 andits other end suitably connected to a pull cable 66 for tightening ofthe band around said drum by pull ,exertedon said cable. The pull cable:65 .is extended upwardly from said band 84 over a-pair of pulleys -61,68 suitably mounted "above the drum -63, then downwardly and forwardlyaround another suitably mounted pulley fisandforward- 1y .from pulley 69to a pulley 10 mounted on a bracket H on the front wall'5. From thepulley 10 said pull cable 66 is extended downwardly and arounda-suitable pulley :1l to the hand'lever 49 the arrangement being suchthat when said lever 49'is operated'in the proper direction and degreeto'permit the clutch-gear 33 to be .disengagedby the spring 42, andtheswitch 55 to .be opened by the spring 550, further operation'of saidlever in-the same-direction -will exert pull onthepull cable 66 to brakethereel l9 and hold the same stationary. Obviously, by easing up on thelever 5| the reel 19 may ibepermitted to idle when such operation isdesired.

After loading of the loftis accomplished, or at any other time, thesheave block grappling hook 21 may becoupled to an eye-bolt 'l2on thedoor 1 and the apparatus used to pull ,said'. door shut, as indicatedinFigure 5.

The stop i 4 limits forward travel of the carriage l5 outtof the barn I,the advantage of which will be obvious. A notch 13;,1's provided in thedoor 1 to straddle the loopzhi .whenxsaid door is closed.

The foregoing will,-it is believed, suffice to'impart a clearunderstanding of my invention without further explanation.

Manifestly the invention, asdescribed, is susceptibleiof modificationwithout departing from the inventive concept and right-isherein-reserved to such modificationsasfall within the scope of theappended claim.

In aibarn having end walls, and an upper doorway in one end wall, anoverhead track extending from the other end wall horizontally out of thetop of-said doorway and terminating outside said doorway in an upturned.loop, a carriage mounted on said .trackto travel from said loopthrough-said doorway into saidpba'rn and provided with pulleys thereon,a reel mountedon saidrother end wall -,in elevated position, a block andtackle forelevating a load .to esaidlcarriage when the latter is in,said loopcomprising a cable rhaving oneendtfixedlto saidreel-forwindingof'gthe cable onssaid reel land unwindingtherefrom-underprieration of the reel in opposite directions,respectively, said cable being trained over said pulleys to form a blockelevating and lowering loop when said cable is unwound, a motor drivefor operative connection to said reel to operate the same in a cablewinding direction and including a clutch adapted to be disengaged topermit the reel to idle in "a cable unwinding direction, said drivebeing mounted in elevated position on said other end wall, a remotemanual control for said drive, and a carriage operated control for saidmotor comprising a motor cut-out switch on said track operative bytravel of the carriage into said barn, and settable along said trackinto different positions.

CLARENCE N. WOLD.

